India under the pump as 1st Test begins today
Auckland: Desperate to bring the Indian team’s faltering tour of New Zealand back on track, skipper MS Dhoni asked his players to dictate terms by capitalising on crucial situations in the two-match Test series starting here on Thursday.
India were hammered 4-0 in the five-match ODI series, which led to the team losing their number one ranking in the ICC chart.
Dhoni revisited the team’s performance in the Test series in South Africa to motivate his squad.
“If we consider the last series we played, we had one bad session, two-and-a-half-hours of bad cricket. Compared to the cricket we played throughout the series, that was really good,” said Dhoni on Wednesday.
“We have not capitalised when we had crucial situations in the game. That is the only area of concern to some extent. The batsmen batted really well, but just those couple of hours where we did not do well. We have seen in this format, it can have a big impact on the game.
“It is important that when we are in a situation where we can command authority or dictate terms, it is very important we go through that phase and keep building on it,” he added.
Dhoni said his team has got enough time to put the ODI disappointment behind and be ready for the Tests.
“We have had just enough time to get back into the groove. We had a practice game also. It is enough time, especially since we played five ODIs here. Most of the team remains unchanged.
“They have already had a look at the wickets, what they will be like, how they will play,” he said.
New Zealand have laid out a green wicket at the Eden Park for the first Test and coupled with the pace and bounce on offer here, it will be another stern test for the Indian team after their batsmen were bounced out in the ODI series.
“The plus point in Test matches is that you can pick and choose when you want to hit it and when you don’t,” said Dhoni, replying to a question on short bowling.
“At times, the ODIs get dominated by how many runs the opposition have scored and how many you are chasing. We chase more often than not.
“If the opposition has scored 280 or 290 odd and we don’t get too many runs in the first ten, when they come in they have to play their strokes as the asking rate keeps rising if you keep leaving them. That is the only difference,” Dhoni added.
Dhoni said grass on the pitch alone cannot be an intimidating factor.
“More than the amount of grass, it is whether the grass is lively or not or the base of the wicket has moisture or not. These are the two things that push you to take a decision,” he said.
“We will see how it is looking, whether it has the green tinge which means it has a bit of moisture, and if the base of the wicket is soft which means it will assist the fast bowlers initially and as the game progresses, it will dry out and become harder and better for stroke-play,” he opined about the pitch, after having denied seeing the wicket yet.
Even the hosts will be worried as India’s seam attack isn’t that weak, especially on pitches that might be conducive for bowling.
In South Africa, the fast bowling unit bowled longer spells than usual and very nearly scared the Proteas in the first Test in Johannesburg before the match ended in a draw.
“The good thing is that their approach (in South Africa) was really fantastic. As a team, we like to give them short spells so that they are fresh thinking about the third or the fourth spell, if needed. We try to use them in short bursts. But if the situation demands, they will have to go for long spells,” said Dhoni.
“So, in South Africa, I felt they did a very good job. Even when we bowled too many overs, when they came for the last spell, they were still putting in a lot of effort. That is very important,” added the skipper. (PTI)